Bulk container device



.Fuly E3, 3965 B. A. MURPHY BULK CONTAINER DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJune 4, 1964 INVENTOR BERNARD A. MURPHY yaw war/Ana;

Mama 5 E3 1965 B. A. MURPHY 3,194,471

Bum: couuzm nsvxcs Filed June 4. 1964 2 Shoots-Sheet z Fig. 7.

INVENTOR. BERNARD A. MURPHY A-l-hrnm s Indiana Filed June 4, 1964, Ser.No. 372,637 Claims. (Cl. 229-44) This invention relates generally to thepacking of commodities, and more particularly to a containerparticularly well adapted to the packaging of flowable materials such aspowders, granular or pelletized materials, semiliquid or liquidmaterials, for example.

It has been found desirable to package commodities of the aforementionedcharacter in corrugated fibreboard containers of various volumes. It hasalso been found desirable to remove powdered, granular or pelletizedmaterials from such containers by the use of vacuum systems whichinclude inlet nozzles insertable into the package to remove the contentstherefrom.

To keep the contents of such packages in the desired condition, it isdesirable to use a flexible bag of a material such as plastic which isas thin as feasible in order to minimize weight and space attributablethereto, and yet facilitate manufacture, setup, filling, sealing andemptying of the containers.

It is, therefore, a general object of the present invention to provide acontainer wherein commodities can be packaged, kept in desired conditionand free of contaminants, and from which the commodities can readily beremoved by vacuum apparatus or other means.

A further object is to provide a container employing a fluid-tightflexible bag supported so as to avoid any difliculty in filling oremptying the container, and in assembling and sealing the container.

A further object is to provide a container achieving the foregoingobjects and well adapted'to conservation of space, weight, and expense.

A further object is to provide a container readily adapted to variationin arrangement of parts as required by the characteristics of thecommodity packaged and the amount packaged.

Described briefly, in a typical embodiment of the present invention, aplastic bag is provided in the form of a tube having a single sealedseam closing its lower end. This bag is received inside a generallyrectangular tube of corrugated fibreboard, with the fibreboard tubebeing open at its upper and lower ends. A horizontal line of adhesiveextends entirely around the inner surface of the fibreboard tubeadjacent the upper end thereof and secures the bag thereto. A similaradhesive strip extends around the tube adjacent its lower end.

In order to insert this assembly into an outer shell or container, andpermit the departure of air during assembly of the bag and tube with anouter container, without bubbles being formed in the bag, an overlappingportion of the bag material is provided extending from the lower end tothe upper end of the fibreboard tube. This overlapped portion isdisposed in the corner of the fibreboard tube. This overlapped portionalso permits escape of any air trapped between the bag and the bottom ofthe container during the filling operation. This avoids possible ruptureof the bag.

Securing the bag to the tube assures that the bag is in the properposition, will stay in such position during carton assembly and filling,and facilitate use of vacuum removal of contents-by preventing the bagfrom coming loose and clogging the vacuum system.

As will become apparent, variation from the typical embodiment can bemade, still within the scope of the States Patent 1 ice invention. Forexample, the tube can have configurations other than rectangular.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

FIG. 1 is a view of the fibreboard blank with the plastic bag mountedthereto, the blank being shown as it appears before the ends thereof arejoined.

FIG. 2 is a view of the combination of FIG. 1 with the ends of thefibreboard blank joined by a taped joint.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 2 squared up anddisposed above an outer container into which it may be assembled.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along the lines 44 inFIG. 3 and viewed in the direction of the arrows, and illustratingdetails of the arrangement allowing the departure of air during assemblyinto an outer container.

FIG. 5 illustrates an assembly being filled.

FIG. 6 illustrates an assembly ready to be capped.

FIG. 7 illustrates an alternate construction wherein the fibreboard tubeis provided with flaps whereby it is adapted to form a regular slottedcontainer, upon closure.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1 shows a tube blank 11typically made of double-faced corrugated fibreboard having score lines12, 13 and 14 dividing the blank into four panels 16 through 19. Theupper margins of these panels are colinear, and the lower marginsthereof are colinear. Adhesive is provided in a strip 21 adjacent theupper margin of the blank and an adhesive strip 22 is provided adjacentthe lower margin of the blank, both strips extending uniformly from theleft hand end 23 to the right-hand end 24 of the blank.

An envelope 26 of fluid-tight flexible plastic material such aspolyethylene, for example, lies upon the panels 17 and 18. This envelopeis actually formed of a tube of polyethylene sheeting and is shown lyingflat with the lower edges of the tube heat sealed in a single seam 27whereby the bottom of the envelope or tube is closed. A slight overlapof the envelope onto the panels 16 and 19 is apparent in FIG. 1. Thematerial of the envelope which lies immediately in contact with thepanels 17 and 18 and also 19 and 16, is secured thereto by the adhesivestrips 21 and 22.

When the panels 19 and 16 are folded on the score lines 14 and 12,respectively, and their ends are placed together and secured by the tape28 forming a joint, the assembly will have the appearance shown in FIG.2. The narrow portions of the bag which are shown in FIG. 1 asoverlapping portions of the panels 16 and 19 again appear in FIG. 2 andtheir significance will become apparent upon reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

In FIG. 3, the combination of the bag and fibreboard tube has beensquared up and is disposed above a halfslotted fibreboard container 29,the flaps of which are closed and secured by gluing or by tape 31, forexample. When the assembly is squared up as shown in FIG. 3, the outersurface of all portions of the bag immediately adjacent a portion of theadhesive strip are secured to the adhesive strips 21 and 22 so that ahorizontal attachment is obtained entirely around the inner surface ofthe fibreboard tube both adjacent its upper and lower ends.

As shown in FIG. 4, a portion 32, 33 of the material of the bag 26 isfolded upon itself along the length of the bag and adjacent the corner34 of the outer tube, and this lengthwise fold extends the length of thetube. The lengthwise fold is maintained throughout the height of thefibreboard tube because of adherence of bag portion 38 to the adhesivestrips 21 and 22 and the bag portion 41 is also adhered to the adhesivestrips, the reference numeral 39 identifying the area adjacent the baseof the lengthwise fold 32-33. 7 By reason of this construction, thelengthwise fold or overlap of the portions 32 and 33 provides apassageway 43 through the fibreboard tube but external to the bag. Thereis a tendency of this folded portion to continue to some extent belowand above the fibreboard tube and this is indicated in the drawings. Inany event, by reason of this construction, the fibreboard tube canclosely fit inside the outer container 29 as the tube is inserted intothe container and allow escape of air from between the bottom of the bagand the bottom of the container 29, the air passing upwardly through thepassageway 43. Normally, one such passageway or chimney is provided ineach of two diagonally opposed corners of the tube. By thus allowing theescape of air, and by providing the adhesive attachment all around theinner surface of the tube at its lower end as well as its upper end,there is no tendency for trapped air to create'bubbles between the innersurface of the fibreboard tube and the outer surface of the bag. Suchbubbles, if formed, could be broken during filling of the bag anddestroy-the fluidtight sealing effect desired. One advantage of havingthe air passageway forming folds in the comers is that it allows thefold to remain out of the way during loading and unloading of thecontainer. Another advantage of providing the overlaps at the corners isthe fact that it is not necessary to prefold the bag before attachmentthereof to the tube forming blank 11. The overlap at the corners can beaccomplished by merely providing the slight overlap of the bag onto thepanels 16 and 19 such as shown in FIG. 1, prior to squaring up of theassembly. I With the main portion of the bag adhered to panels Hand 18,and with the overlapping portions of the bag which contact panels 19 and16 being adhered thereto when the blank is in the condition shown inFIG. 1, the folds become formed automatically when the panels 16 and19-h: folded to the position shown in FIG. 1 and sealing of the bag tothe rest of the adhesive strips on panels 16 and 19 is completed.

Referring now to FIG. which illustrates one possible Val of filling the.container, it; IS usually desirable to fol the upper portion of the bagdown around the outside of the outer container. This is not necessary,howeveq because the upper adhesive strip securely retains the bag in theproper position in the tube and prevents it from being pulled downinside during filling. Therefore, there will always be the right amountof bag at the top for proper closure. Moreover, if the container is adeep container, additional adhesive strips may be provided as shown atan intermediate point in FIGURE 7. This asures that once the tube issquared up, there will not be bulges of the bag extending inwardly intothe volume thereof and which might not be flattened out during fillingif the material packaged would not be of sutficient weight to open thebag and conform it to the inner surface of the tube during the fillingoperation. The use of adhesive in the manner disclosed herein makescertain that the bag conforms with the inner surfaces of the tube whenthe tube is squared up, and the use of the fold or folds to form the airpassageway assures that this conformity will remain during and after theinsertion of the tube and bag assembly into an outer container.

Once the bag has been filled, the extra bag material can be folded overin place and heat sealed or otherwise sealed in a condition such asshown, for example, in FIG. 6, whereupon the contents of the bag areisolated from the environment exterior to the bag. A telescoping cover44 can then be mounted on the outer container 29 (FIG. 6).

To permit the use of a plastic bag with a single heat sealed seamclosing the bottom, and provide just the proper amount of material sothat when. the fibreboard tube is squared up, the bottom of the has willbe formed 4 properly without pulling the bag away from the walls of thetube, it is desirable that the seam 27 of the bag (FIG. I) be located ata proper distance below the lower margin of the tube forming blank 11.This distance designated A in FIG. 1 can be found according to theformula:

where L is the inside length of the panel 18, and

where W is the inside length of the panel 17, the inside length meaningthe length of these respective panels when the unit is squared up. Thesedimensions are designated generally in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the invention wherein the blank whichforms the fibreboard tube has appropriate flaps thereon whereby it isadapted to become a' regular slotted carton when the packaging iscomplete. The same principles as to the location and spacing of the bagwith respect to the blank are applicable to this embodiment, and, asmentioned previously, an additional horizontal strip of adhesive isemployed to assure conformity of the bag'with the box upon squaring upeven though the box is of considerable depth.

It will be recognized that the container of the present invention iswell suited to. various other assembly con-' structions. Therefore,while the invention has been disclosed and described in some detail inthe drawings and foregoing description, they are to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, as other modificationsmay readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art and withinthe broad scope of the invention, refer ence being bad to the appendedclaims.

The invention claimed is:'

1. A container comprising: a flexible liner adapted to be filled with aflowable material, a rigid polygonal tube surrounding said liner, theupper marginal edges of said tube defining the upper opening thereof andthe lower marginal edges of said tube defining the lower openingthereof, first adhesive means extending around the interior of said tubeadjacent said upper edges and securing said liner to said tube adjacentthe upper marginal edges of said tube, second adhesive means extendingaround the interior of said tube adjacent said lower edges and securingsaid.liner to said tube adjacent said lower marginal edges of said tube,said liner being folded upon itself to provide lengthwise foldsextending vertically along diagonally opposite corners of said tube fromthe lower marginal-edges of said tube to the upper marginal edges, theinterior of said lengthwise folds providing passageways for passing airfrom thebottom to the top of said liner, and a rigid receiver receivingsaid lower edges of said tube with the liner therein, the saidpassageways renting air from between said liner and said receiver as theliner is lower end; a tube of rigid material having a polygonalcross-section and open at its upper and lower ends; adhesive meansextending around the inner surface of said rigid tube at locationsadjacent its upper and lower ends and adhering said bag to the innersurface of said rigid tube at said locations; said bag being folded uponitself to provide a lengthwise fold therein extending from a pointadjacent the lower end of said rigid tube to a point adjacent the upperend of said rigid tube, the interior of said lengthwise foldaccommodating passage of air between the ends of said rigid tube andexterior to said bag.

3. The container of claim 2 wherein said lengthwise fold is at a cornerof said rigid tube.

4. A container comprising: a rigid tube open at its upper and lowerends; a bag formed of flexible material closed at its lower end;adhesive means extending around the inner surface of said rigid tube atlocations adjacent 5 6 its upper and lower ends and adhering said bag tothe References Cited by the Examiner inner surface of said tube at saidlocations; said bag being folded upon itself to provide a lengthwisefold from a UNITED STATES PATENTS point adjacent the lower end of saidrigid tube to a point 428,853 5/90 Mccafiley et adjacent its upper end,the interior of said lengthwise fold 5 3,029,008 4/62 Membrmoaccommodating passage of air between the ends of said FOREIGN PATENTSrigid tube and exterior to said bag.

5. The container of claim 4 wherein said rigid tube 2255 11/59 Austraha'includes flaps at one end thereof closed upon themselves JOSEPH RLECLAIR Primary Examiner to close one end of said rigid tube withsaid-bag providing 10 a fluid-tight inner liner therefor. FRANKLIN T.GARRETT, Examiner.-

1. A CONTAINER COMPRISING: A FLEXIBLE LINER ADAPTED TO BE FILLED WITH AFLOWABLE MATERIAL, A RIGID POLYGONAL TUBE SURROUNDING SAID LINER, THEUPPER MARGINAL EDGES OF SAID TUBE DEFINING THE UPPER OPENING THEREOF ANDTHE LOWER MIARGINAL EDGES OF SAID TUBE DEFINING THE LOWER OPENINGTHEREOF, FIRST ADHESIVE MEANS EXTENDING AROUDN THE INTERIOR OF SAID TUBEADJACENT SAID UPPER EDGES AND SECURING SAID LINER TO SAID TUBE ADJACENTTHE UPPER MARGINAL EDGES OF SAID TUBE, SECOND ADHESIVE MEANS EXTENDINGAROUND THE INTERIOR OF SAID TUBE ADJACNT SAID LOWER EDGES AND SECURINGSAID LINER TO SAID TUBE ADJACENT SAID LOWER MARGINAL EDGES OF SAID TUBE,SAID LINER BEING FOLDED UPON ITSELF TO PROVIDE LENGTHWISE FOLDSEXTENDING VERTICALLY ALONG DIAGONALLY OPPOSITE CORNERS OF SAID TUBE FROMTHE LOWER MARGINAL EDGES OF SAID TUBE TO THE UPPER MARGINAL EDGES, THEINTERIOR OF SAID LENGTHWISE FOLDS PROVIDING PASSAGEWAYS FOR PASSING AIRFROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP OF SAID LINER, AND A RIGID RECEIVER RECEIVERSAID LOWER EDGES OF SAID TUBE WITH THE LINERR THEREIN, THE SAIDPASSAGEWAYS VENTING AIR FROM BETWEEN SAID LINER AND SAID RECEIVER AS THELINER IS FILLED.